⭐ Travel Guide for Island Crete ⛵, Greece❗

Crete in ancient times was not threatened by external enemies. The first external enemies of the island were the Romans. Therefore, till then, the fortification of cities was focused on internal enemies. After the Roman Empire (67 BC-330 AD) things changed radically. Crete became a province of the Eastern Roman Empire, which later transformed to the Byzantine Empire. At the same time, several civilizations started developing around the Mediterranean Sea.

Thus, Crete, because of its natural and geopolitical position, acquired great importance and became an "apple of discord" for the civilizations of the Mediterranean. During the First Byzantine Period (330-824) things looked calm. For that reason, combined with the internal and external problems of the Empire, the island was on the fringes of the Byzantine interest. Thus, pirate raids increased and the seaside monasteries were fortified to protect themselves.

Under these circumstances, the first storm on the island was imminent. The Saracen pirates managed to easily occupy Crete in 824, that was almost defenseless. They settled for 140 years, till 961, during which they fortified the largest town, today’s Heraklion. After continuous failures to reoccupy Crete, Nikiforos Fokas managed to liberate the island from pirates in 961. Then, the Byzantines built new walls, which managed to keep invaders away for a few more centuries.

In 1206, Crete passed into the hands of the Genoese, who immediately gave particular importance to the fortification of the island. Within a few years the fortified three castles and 12 fortresses, but still the Venetians managed to occupy the island in 1209. The Venetian Era in Crete lasted for 4.5 centuries and was mainly dependant on the colossal fortification structures. The best Venetian engineers built the Great Castle of Candia (Heraklion). The Turks managed to take over Candia in 1669 after 22 years (!) of besieging and immediately started restoring the Venetian Forts and built a lot of small fortresses across the Cretan Territory, called Koules. The Turks took care of their forts till the end of their presence on the island.

Even today, visitors can get an idea of what the fortified cities of Crete were like, as the walls are still in excellent condition. The impressive castles in Chania, Rethymnon and Heraklion and the fortresses on the islands of Souda, Gramvousa, Spinalonga are but a few samples of Cretan fort architecture.

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Castel di Beto (Melesses Fort)

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The fortress Castel di Beto was located east of the village Meleses, close to Del Cornaro, and was only accessible from its west side. On the top of the hill, there are still ruins of the 0.65m wide wall and remains of a tower, a tank, a church, several other buildings and houses. Moreover, nearby there is a Venetian fountain dating in 1594.

Villa Senekjana in Rodopos

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In Rodopos, Kissamos Province, there was a reference for a Venetian villa, called Senekjana and built in 1575. It might be the mansion that still survives in the village and operates as a Centre for Information and Study of Rodopos Cape and Kolymbari wider area.

Eleftherna Tower

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At position Pyrgi of ancient Eleftherna town, located 24km east of Rethymnon, there are the ruins of a fortified tower. This tower was built before the Roman period so as to protect the unique entrance to the ancient town of Eleftherna.

Rotonda at Kalathenes

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There are the ruins of a Venetian villa of the 16th or 17th century called Rotonda, due to its circular shape. This is believed to have been planned as the holiday house of the Doge of Venice (the king of Venice), however the Venetians did not manage to completely build the villa, as the surviving plans depict.

Fort Harakas

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The village Charakas took its name after a large rock (charakas in Cretan dialect) on which we still see the ruins of the small Venetian fort and the church of the Transfiguration, which was restored recently. The fort consists of three rooms in which the floor is carved into the rock and covered with plaster.

Xopateras Tower

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Xopateras or Xopapas (nickname of John Markakis from Manousiana village) was one of the greatest revolutionary figures of Crete. His existence is closely associated with the monastery of Odigitria near Sivas.

Tower of Maslum Karakasis

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In Neapolis town, in Agios Dimitrios area and next to the old aqueduct there was the house of the janissary Maslum Karakasis, which served as a tower. It was said to have 100 doors, one imposing central gate (called Portela today) and 30 arches. Portela gate closed in the same way of the castle Rumeli Hisar in Constantinople. The building was firstly constructed by the Venetian feudal lord Rasqualigo.

Giannoudi Tower

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At the village Giannoudi we meet a three-storey tower which probably served as a fortified residence of a Venetian nobleman. The building has been declared as a monument by the Greek state.

Forts

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